BOZ encourages cashless transactions

The Bank of Zambia (BOZ) has revised the transfer and balance limits on electronic banking in a bid to facilitate for cashless transactions in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In a statement made available to ZANIS by BOZ Communication’s Division, the Central Bank has removed transactions and balance limits on agents and corporate wallets to pave way for cashless transactions.

The Bank has also implemented an upward adjustment on drawing limits from the initial ten thousand to twenty thousand kwacha, for individuals with the new maximum balance fetching at hundred thousand kwacha.

Small scale farmers and enterprises’ limit has also been revised upwards from two hundred and fifty thousand to one million small scale farmers with the maximum limit set at one million kwacha.

The BOZ Communication’s Division has also instructed electronic money issuers to slash charges for person to person e-money transactions valued up to one hundred and fifty kwacha.

The central Bank has further indicated that this instruction will stand until 30th April, 2020.

Additionally, the Central Bank has reduced the Zambia inter-bank payment and settlement system (ZIPSS) processing fee.

The bank has started that this decision is meant to increase the use of the Real Time Gross Settlement system.

And BOZ has stated that current Anti-money Laundering and Countering Terrorism Financing (AML/CFT) measures will remain unchanged.

The bank has thus urged all mobile money operators and the public, to exercise maximum hygiene as provided for by the Ministry of Health adding that the fight to register zero new infections of the COVID-19 pandemic calls for concerted efforts by all.

BOZ is currently implementing cashless transaction measures as its part of the central bank’s contribution in reducing the further spread of the coronavirus that has posed a global threat in the last two months, with Zambia having recorded two cases.